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My 8 year-old told me...

that he was the only one in his third grade class who still believed in Santa. I was a little taken aback; I mean, I know times have changed. I think I was in the fifth grade when I figured it out. But, that was a few -ahem- years ago. Is this the typical age for current times?

I think it depends on the kid. My son is seven and a half and although he seems to realize that logically it doesn't make much sense, he really REALLY wants to believe. He is the kid who really wants to believe in the fantastic. Last year we were stuck in a traffic jam with a big Peterbilt truck behind us and ds was convinced it was Optimus Prime- his younger sister was the one who kept pointing out all the flaws in this theory to him. "Transformers are just pretend. It doesn't have the trailer on the back that Optimus Prime has. There is a guy driving it." And ds kept trying to counter all the criticisms: "They might be real. He doesn't have to take the trailer everywhere he goes. The guy driving is just a hologram!" I have a feeling that my ds won't stop believing in Santa until his little sister tells him the truth.

I think it is very common now a days. I have a 12 year old, a 10 year old and an 8 year old. I know that they do not really believe and my oldest knows that we buy the gifts. When they started asking questions in 3rd grade I did not give them a straight answer instead I asked them what they believed. When they told me "I still believe because there is no way you and dad buy us all those presents" I told them it was their choice to believe and if the kids at school picked on them then they should ignore them.

When my oldest was in 5th grade he started asking a lot of questions and we asked if he wanted to truth and what we believed. At that time we told him the truth and also told him he could not talk with his younger brother or sister about this. He never said anything to them and that was 2 years ago.

I think that has always been the common age. It's about the time when kids start being able to reason these things out. I think my oldest daughter has known since she was 6. She's very smart and logical (which adds to her smart mouth). She knew right away that the Santa at Wal-mart couldn't be the real Santa (because the beard was fake and "it was a girl"). She's 9 now and insists Santa is still real but I'm sure she realizes that's silly. So does my 8yo son. He told me back in April that the Easter bunny isn't real because I hide the eggs, therefore Mommy is the Easter bunny. I assume he can transfer that to Christmas and Santa. He's in 2nd grade and says many of his classmates don't believe any more.
And my 3yo told my dad the other day that Santa isn't real because Mommy wraps all the gifts, so Mommy is Santa. She's a bright little thing.
I figured it out around the time I turned 8...so in 2nd grade.

lol, wellll..my daughters in kindergarten and she doesnt believe in santa..and i have a feeling she will be breaking all the hearts of the other 21 kids in her class this month, because her school focus' this month on santa, reindeer, and elves...lol..sooooo..yaaaaaa...once she opens her mouth and tells the other kids,it'll be done and over with for them.... i personally think it will be hilarious! but thats me!!

Answer by
Anonymous
at 3:07 AM on Dec. 2, 2009

lol, wellll..my daughters in kindergarten and she doesnt believe in santa..and i have a feeling she will be breaking all the hearts of the other 21 kids in her class this month, because her school focus' this month on santa, reindeer, and elves...lol..sooooo..yaaaaaa...once she opens her mouth and tells the other kids,it'll be done and over with for them.... i personally think it will be hilarious! but thats me!!

Nothing hilarious about it. Maybe you should be a mom and talk to your child about not spoiling the fun for everyone else.

Answer by
Anonymous
at 7:10 AM on Dec. 2, 2009

I know that my cousins daughter was told by a fellow student in Kindergarten that there was no Santa.....I think it's aweful that some kids would ruin it for others, even if they don't understand what they are saying.....

lol, wellll..my daughters in kindergarten and she doesnt believe in santa..and i have a feeling she will be breaking all the hearts of the other 21 kids in her class this month, because her school focus' this month on santa, reindeer, and elves...lol..sooooo..yaaaaaa...once she opens her mouth and tells the other kids,it'll be done and over with for them.... i personally think it will be hilarious! but thats me!!

Nothing hilarious about it. Maybe you should be a mom and talk to your child about not spoiling the fun for everyone else.

I agree with this advice. It is NOT funny for someone's child to ruin things for other kids. Teach your child to keep her mouth shut about this, that not everyone believes like she does. She may end up with NO friends because she ruins things for everyone else. You also need a lesson in keepign things to yourself.